Greenies seal NCAA junior title showdown with Cubs
ALEXIS Barrera made the game’s biggest shot at crunchtime to lift CSB-La Salle Greenhills to a 76-72 triumph over second seed San Sebastian College and a place in the finals of the 89th NCAA juniors basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Barrera delivered 19 points including a critical layup with 39.7 seconds remaining that enabled the Greenies to forge a championship showdown with defending titlist San Beda.
The Cubs already have a 1-0 lead in a virtual best-of-five finals—an incentive they earned for their sweep of the elimination round.
Article continues after this advertisementSustaining the momentum of their 59-56 overtime win over Mapua at the start of the stepladder semifinals last Thursday, the Greenies climbed out of an early deficit in the third period behind Prince Rivero and Kobe Paras.
Rivero, the newly minted NCAA juniors MVP, came away with 21 points, while Paras had 17, including the go-ahead triple at 41-38 midway in the third period.
The Greenies are looking to avenge their 2011 loss to the Red Cubs, who are gunning for their fifth straight title.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Scores:
CSB-LSGH 76—Rivero P. 21, Barrera 19, Dela Cruz 18, Paras 17, Rivero R. 1, Salonga 0, Ramilo 0, Gob 0, Abadeza 0, Lanot 0, San Juan 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 72—Navarro 17, Calisaan 14, Yong 13, Magno 8, Costelo 7, Loor 4, Ilagan 4, Cruz 3, Gatdula 2, Santos 0, Causon 0.
Quarters: 13-20, 29-33, 53-52, 76-72
